The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1887-08-19
ENGLISH SIGNS.
Rise and Decline of an Important
institution"
The Legislation Enacted to save London
From suifocation-D destruction of An
Client Landmarks -IIeraidie de-
viccs--Kingiy Badges Adopted.

In times when signs were IN general
use by all tradesmen. twas only natur-
Al that each man should endeavor to
out-do his neighbors In the obtrusive-
ness of his signboard. Those firms
who advertise on street hoardings do
precisely the same kind Of thing ut the
present day; each endeayors. by means
Of brilliancy Of color or novelty OF de-
sign. to obtain. through his posters,
greater publicity for the wares he deals
In. and to attract more attention than
his neighbors Just so. century or
moro ago, many ingenious devices
were made use of to force into notice
the signboaris Of those dnys. Some of
the boards were made Of enormous
size; others were painted In far-
ing colors; others bore strik-
ing or amusing objects. likely to be
remembered by those who saw them;
while others projected far out into the
street, or suspended within elaborate.
aud often really ornamental. frame
works Of iron. When each tradesman
thus endeavored to eclipse the sign
boards of his neighbors, it may well be
imagined that atinconvenience was caused
To the general public. Complaints that
the size and prominence Of the sign
boards prevented the access Of sunlight
and the free circulation OF the air in the
narrow London streets first began 10
be heard. we are told. ns early as the
beginning Of the fifteonth century.
when an order was made TO abate the
nuisance. In the course of time. how
ever. the evil grew again. till Charles
H., in 1867. directed that no sign
boards were thereafter to hang across
The streets. but that they were 10 he
liked against the sides Of the houses.
Again, however, as years passed by,
the nuisance rcappeared. In 1862, large
powers were once more granted.
and there was u general and final
clearing away of the too obtrnsive sign
boards. Old prints and cngravings Of
he last century often give a good idea
If the way in which the public streets.
10Th of London and other towns, were
,nce disfgured by these overgruwn
sign-hoards.
This general demolition In 1862 gave
blow to the use of signboards from
which those evidences of past igno-
cancc have never since recovered. But
had the conditions which first brought
them into existence remained the sarue.
there can be no doubt that the sign
boards would have again risen. phoenix
ike. from their own ruins. Hap
PLY those conditions have not re-
manned the same. That knowledge
oi reading and writing which during
the present century has become wide
spread among all classes. has. IL may
be truly said, given n death-blow to
the universal use of signs and 10
the art of the sign-painter. This.
TO be sure. is not matter to
call for regret on its own account; new
theless. the great decline in the use Of
the old-fashioned pictorial signboards
is to be regretted for many reasons.
The signs our forefathers used have
as already pointed out-largely inter
woven themselves with our history. In
losing them, we are losing one of the
well-known landmarks of the past.
The signs of the Woolpack and the
Golden Fleece, for instance. which are
still common in the Eastern counties.
are mementos of the time when the
wooden trade flourished in that part of
England. The sign Of the G oach and
Horses. still very frequent sign every
where. calls to mind the old coaching
DAYS. Our numerous Arms. our many
Lions. Bulls. Dragons. Bears and
Horses-rcd. blue, black. green or
white--and divers other strangely coll
ored animals. most of which are quite
unknown TO men of science, are all
relics of medieval times. when heraldry
was cherished and understood by every
one. Many similar instances might be
pointed out. did space permit. Most of
the signboards now displayed by our
inns and taverns bear strong evidence
of their own degradation from the high
position they once occupied. Inasmuch
as they now usually bear the name OF
the house in written characters, they
show most clearly how entirely forgot
ten are the reasons which originally
led To the adoption of the use of signs.
Only now and then do we see pic
! torial signboard of tho real old-fash-
Isnad sort
This decay in the use of inn-signs
however, is no greater than the declin,
| in Importance of the inns themselves
| These have. within little more than tn,
last half-cenury, descended from
| position of great Importance and pros
| perity to one of comparative degrade
ton. Few persons of the present da,
have an adequate idea of the extent t,
which tavern-life influenced though
and manners fifty, one hundred, or tw'
hundred years ago. Then each MAJ
had his tavern, much as we nov
have our clubs and reading-rooms
there he nightly met his friends. hear,
the high-priced London newspaper
read aloud, and discussed the politica
and business topics of the time. Dick
ems, in Barnaby Rudge; has wei
sketched the select village compan
which for many years had met night
at the old Maypole to tipple and debate
Ale was the universal beverage on thes
occasions; and in days when there wer
no colossal breweries at Burton, Rom
ford, or elsewhere, the fame of an
tavern was great or small according t
the skill of the landlord or his sery
ants in producing this beverage. Inns
too, formed the stopping-places of tn
many coaches of hundred years age
and ut them were kept the numerou
horses then required for the traffic. l
the old coaching-days, indeed, many
small town OF village on any main roa
| consisted LARGELY or chiefly of inns